Chapter 4  : Substitution (1)

Qiao Jiuyin touched her sister’s forehead and asked with a smile, “Why are you staring at me? Did you sleep too much?”

Qiao Jiusheng turned her head and stared at Qiao Jiuyin’s face for a while.

Then, she said, “I’m fine. I just had a dream.” The dream was too long and filled with misery and despair, all thanks to this beautiful person in front of her.

Was that miserable life a dream or a reality?

Qiao Jiusheng could not tell.

It was the second month of the lunar calendar, and the rains made the weather cold. Qiao Jiusheng tightened her coat and tilted her head to look out the window. To her, this scene was somewhat familiar, but also unfamiliar. After all, for her, it had happened decades ago.

In her previous life, it was this day when Qiao Jiuyin had invited her to go sightseeing in Linfeng County. On the way, they had encountered a rainstorm and fallen into the river at the same time. When they had fallen into the river, Qiao Jiusheng had thought that it was an accident. Later on, she found out that Qiao Jiuyin had deliberately driven the car down the river to create the illusion that she had gone missing. The scene was meticulously planned.

The car did not slow down. A sign on the side of the road indicated that they were still 40 km away from Linfeng County.

“Why is it raining so heavily this month?” Qiao Jiuyin pursed her lips and looked at the heavy rain outside the window. She sounded a little surprised.

Qiao Jiusheng remained silent for a while before saying, “The weather is like the human heart. I can’t figure it out.”

Qiao Jiuyin looked at Qiao Jiusheng in surprise, then she looked straight ahead. The raindrops hit the asphalt road, splashing the water droplets. Qiao Jiuyin seemingly said in an unintentional manner, “The road is so slippery.”

Qiao Jiusheng blinked and did not speak.

She remembered that in her dream, Qiao Jiuyin had said the same thing to her. At that time, she had replied with a smile, “The rain is so heavy! Someone might suffer again.” A while after she said that, their car had lost control, crashed through the guardrail, and fallen into the river.

Qiao Jiusheng turned her head and looked at the worried Qiao Jiuyin with a complicated expression. They had lived together for more than twenty years, yet she did not understand her biological sister.

The words from her dream made Qiao Jiusheng certain that what she had experienced was not a dream. What she had gone through in her previous life was all true. The gentle sister beside her was someone who would do anything to achieve her goals.

The two of them were biological sisters, blood relatives. They had lived together since the day their mother became pregnant. However, this person, who was the closest to her, had imprisoned her and ruined her life.

Just as Qiao Jiusheng was in a daze, Qiao Jiuyin suddenly said in shock, “Xiao Sheng, there seems to be a problem with the brakes!”

Hearing this, Qiao Jiusheng subconsciously looked up in front and saw that the car was about to hit a fence at an uncontrollable speed.

Bang!

The railings broke, and the car shook. The two people in the car violently shook for a while. The car started to fall toward the cliff. In her panic, Qiao Jiusheng heard Qiao Jiuyin anxiously cry out her name.

The violent collision knocked open the car door.

The seatbelt Qiao Jiusheng had been wearing broke apart without any warning as if someone had tampered with it beforehand. Qiao Jiusheng was flung out of the car, and she crashed into a huge rock that had fallen alongside the car. Her ribs hurt, and her face turned pale from the pain.

This scene was exactly the same as what had happened in the dream.

The dream overlapped with reality, and Qiao Jiusheng’s heart became as cold as ice.

“Xiao Sheng!”

Qiao Jiuyin shouted Qiao Jiusheng’s name with a pale face. She stared at Qiao Jiusheng, who was falling into the river, her eyes filled with fear.

When Qiao Jiusheng heard Qiao Jiuyin’s shout, she did not know what she was thinking. When she had fallen into the water, she had looked up at Qiao Jiuyin. Through the rain, she saw the panicked and scared face of the person in the car, as well as the ruthlessness in her eyes, which she had yet to hide.

That cruel expression cut off the last bit of hope Qiao Jiusheng had for her dear sister.

Qiao Jiusheng fell into the water, and at the next second, Qiao Jiuyin and the car followed suit.

***

When Fang Mu and his assistant walked out of the airport, they saw the chauffeur and secretary waiting outside the lobby.

Fang Mu was surprised to see his secretary, Lin Miao.

When Lin Miao saw Fang Mu walking out of the hall, she walked over to him with flustered footsteps. If one looked closely, one could see that she almost twisted her ankle a few times in her high heels. It showed how helpless she was. Before even reaching Fang Mu, she said, “President Fang, something happened to Miss Qiao.”

The words ‘Miss Qiao’ finally broke the coldness on Fang Mu’s face. A few lines of worry appeared on his handsome face.

Before Fang Mu could ask what happened, Lin Miao explained, “Miss Qiao and her sister were driving to Linfeng County for fun. They encountered heavy rain on the road, lost control of the car, and fell into the riv—”

She had yet to finish her sentence when Fang Mu left his assistant and chauffeur behind. He strode into his car and drove to Linfeng County.

***

At the side of the highway, the traffic police pulled open the safety cordon, blocking the car owners and passengers watching the commotion outside.

The Porsche car at the scene of the accident was still being salvaged, but the owner of the car was nowhere to be seen. Captain Lin frowned as he looked down at the river with a worried expression. At this moment, a young traffic policeman walked over and said to the captain, “Captain Lin, we found a girl at the river bank about 200 meters downstream.”

“Quick, let’s go take a look.”

The girl who the police had rescued was very young. She was slender, and her hair long hung over her shoulders, slightly curled at the ends. Dressed in a long, wet beige coat, she shivered in the cold.

Captain Lin hurriedly handed her a cotton-padded jacket. The girl didn’t bother to take it. She grabbed Captain Lin’s hand as if she were holding on to her only life-saving straw. Then, she anxiously asked, “Another girl fell into the water with me. Have you found her?”

Captain Lin knew that the odds were against him, but his expression did not change. He even comforted her, “Miss, calm down. We’re trying our best to find the other lady.”

When she heard this, the color of the girl’s already-pale face drained more. She leaned to the side, but fortunately, Captain Lin was quick enough to catch her. The girl weakly grabbed Captain Lin’s arm and pleaded, “Please, you have to find her…”

Then, the girl began to sob, unable to straighten her back.

Captain Lin gave a look to his subordinate, who nodded and brought the girl into the car. The rest of them continued to search for the other girl.

A woman in a traffic police uniform walked to the car and handed the girl a glass of water. Seeing that the girl accepted it, she took out a notebook and a pen from her pocket. She looked at the girl holding the hot water again and confirmed that her mood had improved. In a softened voice, she then asked, “Miss, what’s your name? Who was the other person in your car when the accident happened?”

The girl slowly raised her head. It was unknown if she was cold or frightened, but her face was pale.

Her lips quivered. Those lips, which had turned purple from the cold, trembled as they moved. “My name is…”

Just as the girl was about to say her name, a whistle sounded from afar. A car door opened, and a tall, domineering man alighted from it. The girl stared at the man’s arrogant, yet handsome face, and suddenly, a risky idea came to her mind.

The name on her lips changed. “Qiao Jiusheng.”

“Qiao what?”

The policewoman did not clearly hear due to the commotion around her.

Staring at the man who was walking toward her, the girl repeated her name. “Qiao Jiusheng, my name is Qiao Jiusheng.”

Fang Mu walked to the side of the car and happened to hear this sentence. He swept a worried gaze over ‘Qiao Jiusheng.’ When he confirmed that she was fine, his heart relaxed. He bent down and tightly hugged the cold woman. Fang Mu kissed ‘Qiao Jiusheng’s’ forehead and said, “Thank God…”

Thank God, you’re alive.

Fortunately, you’re not the one whose whereabouts are unknown.

‘Qiao Jiusheng’ was stunned. She slowly raised her arms and hugged Fang Mu’s waist.

As she leaned her head against Fang Mu’s chest and listened to his frantic heartbeat, she secretly clenched her fists.

Xiao Sheng, Xiao Sheng, I hope you never appear again.